I’ve enjoyed reading tea leaves for years now. It reminds me of those summer days when I would lie in the grass, stare at the sky and find pictures in the clouds. This little book I put together so others can experiment and have fun with this as well. Each chapter begins with a block print that I created specifically for this book and the book ends with several recipes so that you can try your hand at making your own blends. You can find it here: Tea and Tasseomancy.
This gallery contains 3 photos.
So much has happened in the last few months. It is amazing how much it has thrown me off my grove! I have had to re-evaluate many things and make a lot of adjustments. I haven’t been to my site here in sometime and I thought today would be a perfect day to pull some […]
I’m very excited to be sending off the first of our teas to the great city of Cincinnati, Ohio this weekend for the Steampunk Symposium. One of our Tea Society Members will have these along with a few other artifacts from Orange Moon Downs. I am sad that I won’t be able to attend as I had originally planned but we have other outings in the works and I’ll need to be patient for those. I’m so very excited about this endeavor. Aren’t the labels perfect? And just wait until you taste them. I had a lot of fun with the Batnip Tea. The Mango and Mandarin Orange goodness would make any fruit bat drool, and it works for people too! I know I’ll be drinking it iced this summer.
Luna Moth Fairy
Young Water Sprites with friend Toad
So last week I decided to take my 7yr.old son out for a “date night” with mom. We went to the school rollerskating party. Yup. ‘nuf said. So these mural projects I had all lined up are going to have to wait. I’ve instead been channeling my inner Frieda and have been making art from bed. I finished up some illustrations and photoshopped them into a storyboard/mock up of the book for my client. Thank the Goddess for technology, laptops and very helpful husbands. It felt good to accomplish something! Tomorrow I see the doctor about surgery. Gah. This is going to be a tough next couple of months.
I will be working on an Isis Divination Board for a client today so I thought I’d cast some stones for myself this morning. Then I realized my stones were ALL THE WAY downstairs. My cards however, were right next to me! I pulled the Nine of Swords.
Well, there ya go, the card of nightmares. It’s still weird to me how these cards, pulled at random reflect what is going on in the moment. Yes, I’ve been stuck living in a nightmare. My anxiety levels are pretty high. I’ve been pretty tough on myself, trying to do too many things at once. I’ve been trying to make something happen to move us to where we need to be. Even though it is apparent that I don’t have control over it. Not over all of it anyway. I’m not an advocate of doing nothing. I think we all must do our part. But to expect that I have ultimate control over the situation and therefore ultimate responsibility is silly and harmful.
This card tells me that my suffering is really of my own making and it is not necessarily reflective of my true situation. I think it’s human nature to see the negative before the positive and that can be overwhelming. I need to remind myself that my attitude really is everything. How I approach my situation affects the outcome. We are all, at some point in our lives, faced with tough situations. The trick is to stay flexible, stay hopeful. And for me, I think I need to approach it like a game. There are strategies to be applied and maybe even some fun to be had, if I can remove my personal expectations and attachments. It’s time for an attitude change.
When you are in the grip of fear from a nightmare, it’s time to wake up, splash some cold water on your face and reassess your surroundings, your reality. Move forward with a new approach. Fear can be debilitating and right now, ain’t nobody got time for that!
The Isis Oracle Board can be found HERE.
The Isidore Tarot can be found HERE
The above illustration is one I did for the inside cover of the just released paperback, ‘The Fourth Choice’. It depicts the various religious items that had been collected by the main character in the book, then sent to his daughter in a package. According to the description… “The Fourth Choice is a fast paced prophetic thriller full of action, mystery, murder and political intrigue. After recieving a package of cryptic writings, relics, sacred objects and mystical items, Ana-Lise unexpectedly finds herself and her little daughter on the run and on an apocalyptical hero’s journey through history and across the country. What exactly does she hold that could incite a world-wide war, a revolution and trigger a conspiracy potentially costing millions of people their very lives? What was it that her estranged father knew and where is he now? Coded messages, religious icons and hidden treasure is only the beginning.”
This is my husband’s first novel. It’s good, and I’m not just saying that! I’m currently working on some edits for his second novel, ‘The Fifth World’ while he is busy writing his third, ‘The Sixth Chakra’. I’m thrilled that he is really doing what he has always dreamed of doing. There are so many stories in that man that they can’t come out fast enough. It’s so important to follow our dreams. It isn’t always an easy thing to do. I struggle with it myself. But with all my distractions and survival techniques, I still commit to doing at least one thing each day that furthers my dream. I think about that as the Solstice approaches.
One thing I do each Winter Solstice is make a wish. I plant the seed in the quiet darkness, nourish it and see what grows in the coming year. I’ve been thinking a lot about my dreams and my wishes. It’s a good time of year to reflect and redefine what those might be. They are important and I’m not sure I’ve been feeding mine in the way that I should be. I think I will make a wish bundle this weekend, put it out to the Universe.
In the meantime I will continue editing and “percolating” my own ideas for the year to come.
Check out the novel, ‘The Fourth Choice’ !
In Celtic Mythology She was a daughter of the Tuatha De Danann. She rules over creativity, blacksmithing, home and hearth, war, poetry, healing, livestock, springtime. She was a powerful figure and force, then and now. She is fiery and strong and She asks you to be the same. Bridget, Brigid, or sometimes Brigit, is celebrated and honored during Candlemas or Imbolc in February of each year. She’s the Goddess that brings light after the dark winter. When she shows up, things begin to move, birth, flow, grow, begin.
When we feel lost in the dark of winter, literally or figuratively, Bridget is the one to light the fire that warms and guides us. She is passion and creativity, headstrong and determined. She is asking us to use our passion. Find creative solutions. Remain determined. Never give up hope, never give up the fight.
There is a sexual energy related to Bridget that is in play. It’s the power of creation. You are being asked to reach down into the primal source of who you are and from that, pull forth new ideas, new energy and a passion that will propel you forward to the next stage in your life.
It is understandable to feel fear, to feel nervous about all of the unknown. When the blacksmith’s hammer hits, sparks fly. Bridget is hitting the hammer hard now. The heat is frightening, the noise almost painful, the sparks mesmerizing. When the metal cools we are left with a strong and powerful tool.
You have been beaten and burned, forged in the flame and Bridget has asked much of you. But you are ready to emerge, stronger than you ever were and ready for the next adventure. This time you get to be the one to shape instead of being the one shaped. You have been created so that now you can go and create. You are being given the opportunity to do big and great things. You may not see it yet but you are emerging from the darkness of winter. Whatever time of year it may be on the calendar, for you it is Spring.
Art and excerpt are from The Goddess Coloring Book. Find it HERE
The other day my husband and I took our children to the botanical gardens in town. They have a display of Christmas trees from all around the world, we visited with Santa and then the kids made a craft. The craft that they made was a kadomatsu. Its a type of decoration that’s usually placed in pairs by the door to welcome the Kami, or ancestral Spirits. We placed ours on the hearth. For the Ainu, the Kami is spelled ‘Kamuy’ and Kamuy Fuchi is the goddess I pulled today.
Kamuy Fuchi is the Ainu Kamuy, or Goddess of the Hearth. She is the gatekeeper of communication between the living and the dead. She represents family, ancestors and your soul pod. She is a teacher of the people and oversees all domestic affairs and relationships.
It is said that Kamuy Fuchi never leaves the hearth. And why should she? The hearth is the center of the home. Here is the flame that warms our bodies, cooks our food and sustains our lives. Here is the place where souls return and wait to be reincarnated once more. Here is the place where families come together.
How do you maintain your “hearth”? Is it clean with a fire burning bright? Or is it covered in soot and your flame dwindling? It is time to clean house. Often doing this literally, helps us to do this on an emotional and mental level as well. See how what you have around you and what you are bringing into your space is affecting yourself and your family. It could be that there is someone around you who is being disrespectful to this sacred space.
Community space, family space should be respected by all. Are you enabling by cleaning up after everyone’s messes? Are you or others being disrespectful by bringing in clutter and leaving it for others to work around? Think about this not only in a literal sense but in a metaphorical sense as well. Sometimes the words we use as well as our actions can be just as messy as those dirty dishes left all over the kitchen counter.
Call on Kamuy Fuchi to help in your marriage or in family disputes. Like a tough grandmother she can deliver the swats as readily as the hugs. Though you cannot change others, she will guide you to making changes in yourself; to become more self- aware, allow for self- respect. She teaches us how to nurture that spark and that flame within ourselves. She allows us to talk with our ancestors, living and dead and to make connections that further us in our destiny. She reminds us that sometimes our family is not only those that share our DNA but those with whom we have incarnated time and again. Kamuy Fuchi shows us how to clean up our acts and stoke the fires of a warm and sustainable life.
Excerpt and Illustration are from The Goddess Coloring Book available now.
For my reading today, I pulled Sophia. My daughter’s name is Sophia. She’s been going through a tough time lately and has been on my mind. I guess this one’s for her!
Sophia is considered to be a goddess of wisdom in Hellenistic traditions. The name Sophia in Greek translates as wisdom. The wisdom Sophia gifts us takes place inside of ourselves. To work with Sophia means it is time to break through your illusions, your delusions and the lies you tell yourself.
This commitment is one that can result in pain as your ego falls away and your true self is revealed. The results are always worth it. The process is difficult.
Wisdom comes through experience. Don’t hold back. Do not choose to remain quiet because you fear humiliation if you speak. Do not choose to hide because you fear what people will think if you are seen. Things perceived as “bad” are lessons to be learned. They are opportunities for growth and change. Humiliation brings humility. Humility is the understanding that not everything is about us. Wisdom comes with the realization that there is something more, something bigger than what it is we see and the understanding of our role within that.
The image is a page from my Goddess Coloring Book that features all the Goddesses of the Surcadian Oracle along with a description of their energy and history.